Jacksonville man impacted by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria given the gift of sight

A man who was going blind and lost everything in a hurricane is now getting a holiday gift to restore his vision.

Board-certified ophthalmologist Dr. Ravi Patel at Florida Eye Specialists is providing free surgeries to a patient who’s already overcome many challenges.

A father who has witnessed devastation from three recent hurricanes -- Harvey, Irma and Maria -- is getting his life back on track with the pro bono cataract surgery. Michael McDonald began losing his vision last year due to cataracts, but this summer he lost everything.

“Probably four months, I went totally blind,” McDonald said.

McDonald’s Houston home was destroyed by the raging flooding from Hurricane Harvey.

“It was like (the water) 6 feet over our house,” McDonald said.

His entire livelihood went down the river, including his home, after they just finished remodeling it.

McDonald and his family relocated to Jacksonville so that he could find work as a tree surgeon, and they also weathered Hurricane Irma. After he helped with repairs in Jacksonville, he tried to help Puerto Rico victims from Hurricane Maria, but his own eyesight was shutting down his dreams.

Until he made an appointment with Patel.

“He developed a very accelerated and mature cataract that severely impacted his vision and was not able to see at all out of that eye,” Patel said.

Patel was touched by McDonald’s work ethic; he performed cataract surgery on his right eye free of charge.

“For him, this has severely impacted his life, his quality of life, and his ability to do things,” Patel said.

In this case, McDonald’s cataract surgery would cost about $3,000 for each eye. Patel will also perform cataract surgery on his other eye for free.

“He (Dr. Patel) is awesome. I get really emotional for someone even giving back to me like this,” McDonald said.

On Wednesday, Patel made a small incision in McDonald's eye and took out his cloudy lens before adding a clear lens so he can see once again.

“To be able to give the gift of sight to someone is truly a miracle,” Patel said.

McDonald said this generosity has given him the clarity to see kindness in everyone around him.

He hopes to pay it forward by one day paying for someone else’s cataract surgeries. In a few days, McDonald will be able to safely return to his job as a professional tree climber.

“I love giving back to the community that I grew up in. That’s very important to me,” Patel said.

Patel said cataracts are one of the most common causes of preventable blindness in the world.

Cox Media Group